By John Peel and Joshua Moore
Herald Staff Writers

CORTEZ — Camouflage clothing, automatic weapons, a stolen water truck, and a policeman killed in cold blood.

The mystery has yet to be solved, leaving officials and residents wondering who is responsible and what they were trying to do.

Officials still weren’t giving much of a hint Monday about the identity and motive of three men wanted after killing a police officer in Cortez.

But the emerging picture and word on the street was that the three are locals, possibly from La Plata County.

One reason for such thinking is the roads the fugitives used, the speed with which they used them, and their apparent knowledge of the area.

Two of the men under suspicion have criminal backgrounds, but just for misdemeanor arrests, Cortez Police Chief Roy Lane said. But they had done "nothing of this magnitude," and their crimes did not involve guns, he said.

Lane referred to the fugitives once as "kids," then said he considers everyone younger than him a "kid." He then clarified to say they are younger than 30.

Some, including Gov. Roy Romer, have speculated the men are involved in a militia group.

"There is an apocalyptic view among some militia groups where people think that the government is trying to get them," said Chip Berlet, senior analyst at Political Research Associates, a militia watchdog organization based in Somerville, Mass. "They make an assumption that local law enforcement agents are agents of the New World Order, which is about to impose tyranny, and so they make extremely inappropriate decisions."

Berlet said being pulled over by a police officer can be enough to cause some militia members to shoot the officer.

Of 858 anti-government groups operating in the United States, 37 are in Colorado, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center in Atlanta. Due to the covert nature of these groups, however, they are difficult to pinpoint.

Others discounted the militia theory.

"There are groups of Constitutionalists that live in the Four Corners area," Durango Police Capt. Dale Smith said Monday. "But I’m not aware of any specific individuals in La Plata County."

Ken Banks, owner of Shooters World, a gun shop in Cortez, said if there are local militia groups, they’re more likely to be in the Durango area than in Cortez.

"I just don’t know of any (militia groups) around here," Banks said. "I should know. ... I don’t know of any organized body.

"I don’t think they’re survivalists. I think they screwed up. ... I think we’ve just got some freaks there."

Speculation continued about why someone would choose to steal a big, slow water truck for an apparently thwarted crime.

The truck’s owner, Mike Overright, said although the vehicle has a nonsynchronized transmission that makes it easier to drive than many large trucks, whoever stole it probably had some familiarity with large vehicles.

The truck, a 1998 Mack R688, was equipped with a vacuum to fill and empty it, Overright said. The tank was empty when the truck was stolen. It had recently been used to carry wastewater, making it unsuitable for transporting drinking water.

Overright said the vacuum pump is strong enough to suck up any kind of liquid or dirt through three 4-inch hoses. The shell of the tank is built out of thick steel to prevent it from collapsing under the vacuum.

One theory held that the fugitives’ target was the Ute Mountain Casino in Towaoc. The truck would have been used as a battering ram, possibly to knock over a truck carrying money.

Lane, however, said at an afternoon news conference outside the Cortez Police Station that that was the first he had heard a robbery attempt was planned.

"Right now we have no motive. There’s a lot of speculation out there," Lane said. "There’s been a lot of speculation in the walls of this building."

It’s apparent the fugitives knew the roads.

Their spree began when they stole a truck at midday Thursday in Ignacio. What happened between then and Friday morning is unknown. The men were pulled over Friday morning on Montezuma County Road 27 by Cortez policeman Dale Claxton. By taking CR 27, they avoided going through downtown Cortez.

After shooting Claxton, they drove down Montezuma County Road G — McElmo Canyon Road — at a fast clip, something that might be hard to do without knowledge of some of the road’s tricky twists.

They then headed north toward Hovenweep on a rough dirt road and turned toward Cross Canyon, which is obscure to all but locals and those who spend a lot of time in the area.

Then they apparently managed to walk up Cross Canyon about 30 to 40 miles, crossed U.S. Highway 666 near Cahone, and dropped down into the Dolores River canyon.

Some suggested at least one of the suspects was from Ignacio, where the water truck was stolen.

One Ignacio resident said the gas well roads along County Road 318 are a confusing patch of zigzag paths.

"They would get lost if they didn’t know the area," he said.

Ignacio Police Chief Pete Gonzalez acknowledged the town is curious.

"We’re dying to find out if there’s a tie to Ignacio or if it’s just a coincidence," he said.